3rd Sunday of Advent

In this Sunday's Catena St. Thomas shows us what first appear to be contradictory interpretations of the Fathers on the passage about John the Baptist wanting to know if Christ was "the one who was to come". The apparent argument is over whether John was asking out of ignorance or a kind of Petrine disbelief or from some hidden purpose, or even whether John was referring to Christ's descent into hell. Through the confusion of interpretation Chrysostom shines consistently.

There is a story that when St. Thomas and some companions were approaching Paris and came to an overlook, one of the companions asked him if he too admired the obvious wealth and beauty of the city. St. Thomas replied that while Paris was indeed beautiful, he'd give it all away for a volume of Chrysostom on Matthew's Gospel.

Today we share a glimpse with St. Thomas of that grander view St. John Chrysostom offers us into the heavenly city.

2nd Sunday of Advent

The catena for this Sunday's Gospel is by far the longest I've posted. One reason for this is the length the Fathers go to in meditating on and explaining the details of John the Baptist's life and character.

The translation of the Catena on Matthew seems better than the one on Luke. I've had to correct only a few egregious errors (e.g., fight for the correct flight) and revise fewer passages into smoother, dare I say, more felicitous English.

First Sunday in Advent

In this Sunday's Catena we are introduced to two relatively late Fathers, namely, Rabanus Maurus, a 9th century Benedictine theologian, and Remigius of Auxerre, a 10th century Benedictine teacher. Although St. Thomas uses them only once each in today's Catena, unlike the frequently appearing Chrysostom or Augustine, nevertheless he certainly relied heavily upon their pioneering work of establishing the study of theology as a kind of science.